Training and certification consultation
A consultation is under way to develop core training curricula and investigate a certification process for the training of HIV service providers in resource-poor settings. As part of the “Human Capacity-Building Plan” that proposes a set of steps by which WHO, together with partners, will help countries to develop and sustain the workforce necessary to achieve 3 by 5, the consultation has been separated into several workstreams:
- Community treatment support – usually provided by community health workers and/or adherence counsellors
- Basic HIV/AIDS treatment and care – usually provided by nurses and other health workers with equivalent clinical experience and education
- Clinical HIV/AIDS treatment – usually provided by physicians and medical officers
- HIV testing and counselling, and clinical adherence counselling – usually provided by counsellors
Moderators have been identified at WHO Headquarters in Geneva for each workstream. They will form the workstreams with experts within the WHO and with external partners who have demonstrated experience in training for that particular group of service providers. Each workstream will identify and review existing training courses and materials; identify core competencies for providing service delivery to PWAs; identify a core curriculum to cover these competency areas; and propose a mechanism for certifying training courses at the country level.
The workstreams will work initially via email and teleconference and, at the end of the process, the WHO will hold a consensus meeting including representatives from the Regional Offices and partner organizations. The outcome of this consultative process will be a set of packages in four workstreams that include a list of the core competencies, a basic curriculum, an annotated database of available training courses and a mechanism for certification. Other workstreams will be opened soon to address pharmacists, laboratory technicians, managers and other core workers necessary for 3 by 5.